Ha, that's so odd to me -- I grew up in a place where everyone loved the Beats, like Kerouac was this god. And since I now live in the SF Bay area, there's definitely a ton of Beats lover. (Calling the hipster argument not a very valid one is being kind to it, I think. The criticisms about sexism and misogyny are the ones that affect me, and they're the reasons why I tend not to enjoy the Beats as much.)

I like what I've read of Whitman; Dickens is good when I'm in the mood for long-windedness.

Anieclaw